The Shadow's Sun
by Mac'n'Cheese Fangirl
Summary: Nico didn't mean to turn on the radio that morning. Really, it wasn't even him. It was his boyfriend, Will Solace. but when the song Centuries comes on, a wave of horrible memories comes crashing down on him. Will Will come comfort him, or will Nico be stuck in his cabin with only red all around him? Rated T for angst and mentions of suicide and self harm. Please R&R
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, this is just a little fanfic I wrote about Nico and the song Centuries, by Fall Out Boy. It's Solangelo. I was listening to this in the car the other day, and I had a fangirl attack because it fit so well. Anyway, this is my first fanfic. Hope you like. **

**Summary: **

**Nico is listening to the song Centuries by Fall Out Boy, when a wave of memory comes crashing down in him. Will Will Solace be there to help, or will Nico be left to cry alone? One-Shot. Solangelo**

**Disclaimer: do I look like Rick to you?**

Damn that stupid song. Damn it. Nico hated it! Hated! If only he hadn't turned on the radio this morning. But he did, and this happened. Oh well. It could be worse.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Nico was awoken by the sun streaming through his window._. _He was about to bury his head under the covers again, when he heard the loud bang of a cabin door (specifically his) slamming open, and an oh-so-cheerful voice.

"Wake up, Nico!" exclaimed the overly preppy voice of his boyfriend, Will Solace. "It's time for breakfast, you idiot! You need carbs. Get up, so I can feed you."

It was true. Even after three weeks at Camp Half-Blood, Nico still looked like a skeleton. Though his olive complexion was returning, bit by bit, he still looked sickly and pale, with dark bags under his eyes and his clothes hanging of his frame. "Nico! Get out of bed right now!" Nico peeked out from under the covers. Will stood in front of him, hands on his hips, a stern look on his face.

"Will?" Nico mumbled.

"No, the tooth fairy."

"Oh. Will, I promise I'll get up, but can you pretty pretty please bring me breakfast? Pleeeeeease?" Nico gave him the look he knew Will couldn't resist, making his bottom lip quiver and his large, chocolate brown eyes widen.

"Fine." Will huffed "but only because I love you. Now, get dressed. I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm going to turn your radio on, so you'll have to get up. And remember, no underworld-y stuff, okay? Okay." Nico just rolled his eyes, and snuggled back into the covers. He looked over at his sister Hazel's bed, but she was gone. Probably out with Frank. _Sister_._Like Bianca._ His heart panged, and he mentally slapped himself. Today was the seventh anniversary of when she…..passed. Nico always checked in the underworld to see if she had returned yet, but with no avail. The last time Nico had seen her was two years ago, on this anniversary. He had summoned her, excited to see her, only to get a brief time with Bianca before she disappeared. She had told him that she was going to try for rebirth. Nico had been heartbroken, destroying everything in his cabin. But now… he wouldn't be able to check the underworld for her. _Doctors' orders_, he thought sourly. He didn't realize he was tearing up until his hand came up to his face to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. _Don't, DiAngelo. _He thought. _I won't cry, can't cry don't cry. _You're not allowed to. With a heavy sigh he swung his legs over the side of the bed and onto the cold wooden floor. His bare feet padded over to the dresser, where his radio was. He meant to shut it off, but what he heard next almost stopped his heart.

**Some legends are told, **

**Some turn to dust or to gold, **

**But you will remember me, **

**Remember me for centuries. **

Nico stopped in his tracks, and his brain short-circuited. He stumbled back, then slid down to the floor, his back to the dresser. No. No! Not now! He thought they had stopped. The memories. But apparently they hadn't. Nico fought to overcome the darkness sat the corners of his vision, but to no good end. As he slipped into the cold darkness, he could hear a girls laugh, still ringing ion his ears.

**Just one mistake**

**Is all it will take**

_One mistake. The mistake that had ended Bianca Deangelo's life. And all the mistakes he had made through his life. One big, horrible mistake. The one when he let Bianca go on the quest. Liking Percy, even though he knew he would never be liked back. Cutting. Mistakes, mistakes._

**We'll go down in history**

**Remember me for centuries.**

_The DiAngelo twins were famous, or at least Nico was. He was at both camps at the same time, the only demigod son of hades, and to top it all off, gay. He knew what the campers said behind his back. He was famous, but not in a good way. He was the sidekick of the seven, the extra wheel. He didn't fit in, and he doubted anyone would remember him after he died. They would_ _remember Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and all the others for centuries, but he would always be the forgotten one._

**Mummified my teenage dreams**

**No it's nothing wrong with me.**

_It was a cruel joke, how demigods would never have a normal life. They had to set aside all of their dreams, and save the world over and over again. It wasn't a good idea to be in love, because you knew they would be killed anytime. No school, no friends outside of camp, and sometimes no life. This was just the norm for a demigod. Nobody thought twice about it._

**The kids are all wrong**

**The story's all off**

**Heavy metal broke my heart**

_Everybody was wrong. Except for Will. They all thought they knew him, but they didn't. Nobody did. Nobody understood what it was like to fall for someone, but have them be straight. To lose a sister, then lose her again. To be the ultimate outsider. To be feared. All of those stories the younger kids would tell around the campfire? About him being a hero? Fake. All fake._

Nico was jolted out of his misery by wet liquid running down his face. Tears. No. unacceptable. Nico stood suddenly, and reached across the bureau for his stygian iron sword. His fingers fit into the leather grip, soft from being used so much. Nico pressed the tip of his blade to his wrist, drawing blood. He slashed across his wrist slowly, relishing in the pain. Then he went faster, the music still playing in the background. Slash. Blood. Slash. Blood. Slash. Blood. It hurt like hell, but it was better than the emotional pain. He rolled his sleeves up even further, exposing more scars, some from monsters, but most from him, the real monster. Nico pressed the blade harder, and let out a slow hiss of breath. Gods, this felt good. The music was still playing in the background, and without meaning to, Nico slipped back into the memories.

**We've been here forever**

**And here's the frozen proof**

_Nico flashed back to the lotus casino, stuck in time. He had always knew there was something off about that place, but he was having too much fun to pursue that thought. It wasn't until he got out that he realized it was 2011, not the 1940's. He knew nothing about modern day, and he was lost. When he found Percy Jackson, he thought he was the greatest person in the world, and idolized him. But when he let Bianca die, he had hated him. Hated him with all of his heart. But after a week, he realized that he couldn't be mad at him. He wasn't able to. And Nico hated himself for that. He couldn't find a way to hate himself enough. But two years later, he found a way. And the cutting started._

**I could scream forever**

_After Bianca died, after Percy got a girlfriend, there was no end to the pain. His anger and sadness was never-ending. His feelings became painful, like he had been forced to withdraw from lifesaving medication. So he had vanished, because the pain was too much. His emotions had become bottled up and he could hold it no longer. He traveled to camp Jupiter, not really knowing where he was going, but not caring. Along the way, when everything became too much, he resorted to cutting. It felt good. But when he had gotten to Jupiter, only a month later was Percy there. He was heartbroken. _

**We are the poisoned youth**

_All demigods were poisoned. They had the blood of the gods. A curse. Not a blessing. A curse. Nico would readily trade in his life to stop being a demigod. There were just too many awful things. Nico had gone through Tartarus and back_

Cutting. Slash. The blood flowing down his wrists felt good, like it would wash away all of his problems. And it would. He wished he could take away his life along with the problems. But Will. Will. Will was the only reason he didn't kill himself. The blond boy would be heartbroken, and he knew what that felt like. He wanted Will to live a long, happy life, without being as miserable as Nico. Nico cared too much about Will to let that happen.

Nico stared at the red flowing down his wrists. What Will doesn't know can't hurt him. The song started its chorus again.

**Some legends are told**

_There were many legends told about the great heroes of ancient Greece. Not all of them had a happy ending. Actually, in, most of them, the hero ends up dying. Demigods were like that. We didn't get happy endings either._

**Some turn to dust or to gold.**

_Hazel. _Nico thought again. _Pluto and hades. Riches and death. Gold and dust. Two different children, two different aspects. We couldn't be more different. I wonder if Bianca would have liked her_

A small sob escaped him, and soon he was crying.

_Bianca, oh Bianca I miss you so much. Why are we cursed? Why can't children of hades ever have a happy ending, huh? Why do our lives suck? Why are we so messed up? Why!? _

Nico was sobbing in his cabin, blood flowing down his arms, pooling in his hands, when the door banged open, and there was Will Solace. _Oh, gods_ Nico though. _If will sees me…_ he yanked his long black sleeves over his arms, and covered up the blood on the floor.

"Nico!" Will exclaimed cheerfully. "I brought breakfast-"he saw Nico, sobbing in the corner next to the radio. He dropped the tray of food with a loud bang. "Nico!" he yelled, and rushed over to him. Nico tried to wipe away his tears before will could see them, but they kept coming. "Nico, what's wrong? What happened?" if Will had been paying attention more, he would have seen the dark, red stains on Nico's shirt, but right now, he was just trying to figure out why Nico was crying. "Nico baby, it's okay. Shh shh shh. Will grabbed Nico in a hug and rocked him like a baby. "Nico, baby. What's wrong?" Will planted a kiss on top of Nico's head. Soon, Nico stopped crying, and rested his head on Wills shoulder. He drew his knees up to his chest and leaned against the son of Apollo. "Nico." Will said softly "why were you crying? Please tell me, angel."

Nico didn't answer

"Nico, please." Nico looked up at will, and what he saw surprised him. Will genuinely cared. He could see it in his eyes. "Nico, I'm begging you."

Nico let out a long, slow breath. "Will." He said softly "when I was two years old, Zeus killed my mother. He knew that hades had had two children, and he saw us as a threat. My mother, Bianca and I were staying in a hotel, when my father, hades sensed something. He had just enough time to protect me and Bianca, before Zeus blew up the hotel. My mother was unprotected. She died. Hades sought to put us somewhere Zeus would never find us. He found a place where time stands still. The lotus casino. My father erased our memories, and sent us to the casino-hotel. We spent seventy years there.

After that, we were sent to a boarding school by my father, and Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover found us. We were attacked by a manticore, which took Annabeth. We traveled back to camp, and there was a quest issued to go save Annabeth. But that night, I overheard Bianca. She had accepted Artemis' offer to join the hunters, and I-I- I thought she had abandoned me." Nico's voice cracked. "She was chosen to go o that quest, and I made Percy promise to keep her safe. But... he didn't. She died. And I hated him _so _much.

She was the only family I had ever had. About two years ago, she tried for rebirth, and I haven't seen her since. After that, I ran away, like a coward. I met king Minos in the labyrinth, and he trained me, showed me how to use my powers. But… he also told me I would never be loved. Never fit in. I would be feared. He told me things and showed me things I would never forget. It-"Nico stopped. "It was horrible." He wiped away some tears. "Then Percy came and rescued me. I gave him my plan to help defeat Kronos, and we tried it the next summer. It worked. We defeated him, but I left camp. Then Percy disappeared, and everybody went insane trying to find him.

I traveled to camp Jupiter, where Percy was. He didn't recognize me. About a month later, I, uh, got pulled into Tartarus. I nearly went insane. All of those voices… I wanted to just end it. Kill myself. But I made it out in one piece. But when I got out… it was a trap. Ephilates and Otis trapped me in a bronze jar, and I almost died. Percy and the seven got me out, though, but Percy and Annabeth fell in to Tartarus. Before they fell, they made me promise to lead the seven to the doors of death. About halfway there, Jason grace and I met Cupid." Nico squeezed his eyes shut.

"Cupid made me tell-tell him that I had a crush on Percy. And it was true. Ever since I met him when I was ten, I have had a major crush on him. Please don't hate me." Nico looked up at Will, and to his surprise, his boyfriend looked outraged.

"Nico DiAngelo! Why on earth would you even think I would hate you! And di immortals, that's terrible! Why would cupid do that? You went through so much, I'm surprised you're still sane!" Nico just shrugged and looked at the floor. "Why didn't you tell me earlier about this?"

"Up until then, Bianca had been the only one who accepted me. It was the 1940's, Will. You could be killed because of who you loved. Back in Italy, the soldiers used to parade all of the Jews and the gay people in the town square. I was so afraid of being caught, and so afraid of-of everything, that I considered handing myself over! Then, when I got to the 21st century, I was afraid again and I didn't want to like Percy. After all, he had let my sister die. I-I was afraid of myself! Will, I'm weak. I am afraid. I let my friends die, and I couldn't stop it. I'm the son of Hades to top it all off. People are afraid of me. I can't do anything right." Will's eyes were steely. He looked angry at Nico, and Nico, and he wondered if he had said something wrong.

"I promise you, Nico. Will said firmly. "You will never be alone. At least not while I'm around. You are the strongest demigod there is. You went through torture, to hell and back in a few years. That's more than anybody should have to go through in a lifetime." Nico smiled tentatively, but then remembered.

"Today was the anniversary. Of the day Bianca died." Nico said softly, then started sobbing. "I miss her so much, Will. So, so much."

"Shh, shhh, shhh." Will soothed. "Don't worry angel. I'm here. Don't worry." Will murmured in his ear, not really saying anything, but it was still comforting to the son of Hades. "I'll be here. I'll always be here. Don't worry." And they stayed like that for hours, until they both fell asleep on the floor of Nico's cabin. When morning came, will was tempted to go, but stayed by Nico's side. Nico needed something happy in his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys. Just FYI, this chappie was written in bed, while sick, with fuel consisting of peanut butter crackers and water. Hope u like!**

**Me: I totally own everything! Will, and Nico, and Percy, and Annabeth, and-**

**Will: what? No! That stupid Ronald rigor owns us!**

**Me: shih! Shut up Will!**

**Will: but-**

**Me: fiiiiiiine. *groans in defeat* I no own.**

It had been three days since Will found Nico on the floor of his cabin, and they hadn't spoken of it since. Well, spoken. Whenever possible, Will would shoot reassuring glances at the Son of Death, and wrap his arms around him too, to say _I'm here. Don't worry. I'm not going to leave. _ Hazel had spoken quietly to Will in private, saying that he got like this sometimes. She had never known what it was until Will had told her. She told him that Nico just needed some comfort, and someone to make sure that he knew he was loved. After their conversation, the blonde haired boy had felt if not a little honored that Nico had trusted him enough to tell him about this. So he continued to comfort the younger Italian boy. Nico had gotten better after the second day, not holing up in his cabin, but going out for meals and the campfire. He even-

"Hey, Will" Kayla, Will's half-sister greeted him as she sauntered into the cabin, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah. Hey Kayla." He responded halfheartedly.

"So, Will." She continued. Are you going to capture the flag tonight? It's going to be super fun."

"Oh, no Kayla. Sorry. I have to work a double shift at the infirmary tonight." He replied, realizing for the first time that _he had to miss capture the flag with Nico! "_Oh, schist!" Will yelps "Damn it! I told Nico I would be at capture the flag! Damn. I've got to tell him. I just hope he's not too disappointed" Will practically flew from his cabin, leaving a trail of medical papers behind him as he ran. _Damn you Will_ he mentally chided himself. _Forgetting about Nico? Really? Wow. I am such a bad boyfriend. _

"Will!" Nico called out from the line at the sword fighting arena. "Hey, Will! Will!" Nico had such a big, goofy grin on his face that Will instantly forgot about being nervous, and jogged over to his boyfriend. "Will!" Nico cried out happily. "Hey, Will! Guess what happened? Guess!"

"Uhh, what?" Will said warily. His boyfriend, the friggin _ghost king_ was being cheerful? The world was ending!

I talked to Chiron the other day, and he said I could go to Goode high with you!" Will gaped, openmouthed. Nico was his boyfriend was going to high school with him? This was awesome! Will felt like he was floating on a cloud. The only time he had felt this elated before was when Nico had agreed to be his boyfriend.

"Wooed!" Will whooped. "You're coming to Goode! This is amazing!" Will tackled Nico in a hug. Nico grinned. "Glad you like the news, sunshine. I figured you would. Ow, are you going to come kick my ass in sword fighting or what? You'll need all the practice you can get for captured the flag tonight." Wills smile faltered and he groaned. "I'm so sorry, Nico. I can't go to capture the flag tonight. I need to work a double shift at the infirmary. I totally forgot. "At hearing this, Nico stuck his lip pot and pouted.

"Aw, man Will. I was going to whoop your butt in capture the flag!" Will chuckled lightly.

"Well, needs, duty calls. I swear ill make it the next time, okay? I'm really sorry. It totally slipped my mind. I promise I'll be there next time. And I can't break promises. I'm a son of Apollo, remember?" at this, Nico smirked, and kissed Will lightly.

"Well sunshine, see you around." Nico said, and went back to sword fighting.

**LINEBREAKOFCAPTURETHEFLAGLINEBREAKOFCAPTURETHEFLAG LINEBREAKOFCAPTURETHEFLAG **

"Get out of the way! Move!" that's what was heard by Will as one of the Athena campers shoved the infirmary door open with a loud _bang_. What Will saw next made his blood run cold. _Nico_ he thought. There, laying in Malcom's arms was a bruised and bloody Nico DiAngelo. "Will!" Malcom called out, relief obvious on his face. "Will, its-its Nico!"

"Nico!" Will called. One of the other Apollo kids took grabbed Nico and rushed him into a cot. He hooked up an oxygen tank to the son of hades's small face. Oh, gods, he looked even worse close up. "Let- let me see him!" he made a wild dash for his bed, but his half-sister Kayla held him back. "No! I need to see him!"

"Will!" Kayla yelled in his ear. "Will! You'll only make it worse! _They _need to handle this!" the blonde haired boy collapsed onto the floor, boring his face in his hands... "Wha-what happened?", but it came out muffled.

No response. The rest of the Apollo cabin suddenly took a sudden interest in their shoes.

"Tell me what happened!" Will raised his voice, lifting his heed out of his hands. "Tell me!" his voice cracked at the end. Margaret, one of the Hermes kids shuffled forward.

"there-there was a chimera. A-and Nico tried to shadow travel it away, b-but it attacked him. He barely made it back, but he's solid now. I'm not sure that's a good thing, though. He-he was hurt pretty bad. The chimera stung him and slashed at him. He's got at least a dozen broken bones. I don't know…" she trailed off, her voice ending in a whisper. Will felt tears clouding his eyes. _Nononononononononononononononon. No! noooo! _His endless mantra. Then he shot up off the ground, causing a few of the younger campers to squeak and jump back from the look of rage in his eyes.

"Take. Me. To. Nico." He ground out. He then proceeded to storm out of the waiting room, and into Nico's room.

"Hey man." Percy called out from the other side of the cot. Wait, _Percy_ was allowed in here and he wasn't? He spotted Annabeth, Thalia, and hazel. "he's not doin' too good." Percy said. From the look in his eyes, it was evident that Percy cared much more about Nico than he let on. "If you want we can..." he trailed off, and Will nodded his head, grateful. Percy gestured to his friends, and led them out of the room. Now, it was just him and Nico. Will busied himself with taking care of Nico, with the sole purpose of distracting himself from Nico's bruised and bloody face. He took care of that too, of course, but afterwards refrained from looking at his boyfriend too much at all. He spoon fed some nectar to Nico, and took care of all of the minor scrapes and cuts. Just as he was casting his broken arm, he felt something warm and wet under his arm. Blood. Will left Nico's arm half in a cast, and was halfway through cutting his boyfriends shirt off, when Nico moaned, and rolled over as soon as his torso touched his arm, he gave a yelp of pain and sat up, eyes blazing. Then he noticed what Will was doing. "No!" he cried out, and reached towards Will's hand to stop it, but it was too late. His shirt was all the way off of his chest, exposing the harsh that could only come from razor blades and very sharp swords. Will couldn't think, couldn't breathe, only stare at the scars, some faded and pink from years ago, and some looking like they had been cut just a few days ago. _A few days ago. _Oh gods. A few days ago was when Nico had been sitting in his cabin, crying. And there. Next to him was a sworn covered in blood? _Oh gods. Nico, what have you done? What have I done?_

**Nico POV**

The word _no! _Was barley passed my lips when I saw Will staring at my handiwork on my chest? His eyes traveled down my chest, and down to my wrists. And, oh gods, his eyes were so broken. I had lied to him, lied to them all. I had betrayed the last person who loved me. I knew what was going on. Will thought I was a monster. A freak. And he was right. I couldn't, shouldn't be loved. Monster. Maniac. Freak. "Nico." Will started hoarsely. No. I couldn't keep hurting the people I loved. I know what I have to do.

"Will" I said? "Bye, sunshine." Then I let the darkness envelope me, and the last thing I see is Will's desperate face, crying out for me to come back. Then-

**Ooooh, cliffy! Nice! Please give me 5 reviews and I Will update. Just 5! 5 measley reviews! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh. My. Gods. **

**I promised you! And I FAILED. I broke that promise! I am probably the worst person on earth! It's been what, two, three months? Ahhhhhhhhhh! If I ever do this again, I give all of you permission to find my house and come kill me. Personally. Please. **

**Also, I am taking requests! Ant kind of requests, any at all. Just PM me or leave a review. I'm also up for collab stories, but only during the summer. **

**Warning: I have included a little non-canon couple in here. I just couldn't keep away from mentioning this, they're so good for each other. **

**Disclaimer: me no own**

3rd person POV

It had been three days since Nico had disappeared.

The seven, plus many of the other older campers had been told of the situation, but only Percy, Jason, and Annabeth actually knew what was going on. Everybody else had just been told that Nico needed to be found immediately, and any help would be valued. They had been looking for three days, but there was no sign of him. They had checked with the gods, who had seen nothing of him, then returned to camp. IMs weren't going through, and it was like Hades had disappeared. Percy was going out of his mind with worry, and Jason could be found most days sending iris messages nonstop to other campers, trying to find Nico.

Frank and Hazel had been told, and Hazel was hysterical. She had cried for two days straight, and had just now taken to coming out of her cabin. Frank had quietly old Percy that all she said was that she couldn't lose her brother again. Nobody had told her about the cutting.

Once Nico had come out of his shell a little with a little (a lot) of help from Will Solace, Nico had become like a little brother to all of the seven, especially Reyna. When Reyna had found out about Nico's disappearance, she had cursed him, and promptly sent her two dogs, Argum and Argumentum, along with ten of the legions best trackers to find him. She knew exactly what was going on, and was on edge. She couldn't bear the thought of him being out of her life, if even for a few days. It was impossible.

Thalia had been told by her girlfriend, Reyna, to report any sightings of him. She gladly took it up as a personal challenge to find him, muttering something along the lines of skinning the little death breath when they caught up to him. So, yes, overall? People were going crazy. But not as crazy as Will Solace.

Will POV

Will stared up at the Apollo cabin's ceiling blankly. Being the ADHD son of Apollo he was, his mind tended to wander. But not now. The only thing that was on his mind was his boyfriend, Nico DiAngelo. For the ten millionth time, he ran over the details in his head. Some of the cuts looked fairly old, years even. Then there were some new ones that looked like they were from just a days before. And just a few days ago, Will had found the son of hades curled up in a ball on the cabin floor, sobbing. Will had never seen Nico cry before, so to be honest, he was more than a little shocked. The next few days to come Will would beat himself up, asking over and over again

_Was this my fault?_

Everyone tried to reassure himself that no, it wasn't his fault. He wasn't to blame, and they could find Nico. But he wasn't buying it. He knew that there was something he could have done, something he could have said. He could have paid more attention to his moods, or the way he looked. Hell, he could have made sure he was eating right! He was a friggin' son of Apollo! It was his duty to take care of his patients, and protect them from harm, and harming themselves! But he had failed, as he had done with so many before. Failed. Failed to protect Nico.

Nico had told Will a decent amount about his past, from what he could tell, it was pretty traumatizing. There was one night though, that was similar to the episode he had witnessed just days before.

_Will marched through the thick snow, the white flakes crunching underneath his boots. He took the stairs to the hades cabin two at a time, but stopped abruptly. He twisted the handle slowly, as to not make any noise, and burst through the entrance_

_"__Surprise!" _

_This did not have the intended effect. _

_"__Oh. Hey, Will" Nico said dully. He was sitting on his bed, staring at the wall. _

_"__Nico?" Will asked, concerned. What happened? Sure, death breath was a little depressed all the time, but never… lifeless. "Nico!" Will exclaimed. "Nico, what's wrong? Nico!" _

_No response._

_"__Nico!" Will nearly screamed. He ran over to the bed, and proceeded to shake Nico violently. "Nico, you have to tell me right now! Do I have to beat someone up?"_

_"__No."_

_Will let out a sigh of relief. "Nico" he said gentler. "Nico, you can tell me what's wrong. I'm here, you know. I'm always here." Nico drew his knees to his chest. In the green light of the cabin's torches Nico looked haunted, possessed. _

_"__Will." he stated brokenly, and Will was taken aback. "Don't leave". His voice cracked at the end of the sentence. _

_"__Of course, Nico." Will sat down softly on the bed next to his boyfriend, and wrapped his arms around the younger demigod. They sat like that, in comfortable silence for a few minutes. "Nico" Will whispered softly. "What's wrong" Nico slumped in Will's arms._

_"__Why do people leave?" asked Nico "I mean, why people have to leave so soon, Will? Bianca left, and my father left, and Percy left, and my mother left, and Hazel left to go to camp Jupiter, and you're going to leave too!" Nico's voice rose hysterically, and he turned to face Will with a wild look in his eyes. "And you're going to hate me, because I'm a stupid son of hades and I'm broken! I'm broken Will! And no amount of glue can put me back together." Nico slumped in Will's arms, shoulders hunched, but Will sat there in shock. He didn't expect Nico to be so…open about it. And where the hades did Nico get the idea that he was going to leave? _

_"__Nico" Will said. "I am never going to go. I promise you that much."_

_"__but-"_

_"__No! Don't! People love you, Nico, and I don't get how you don't realize that! I love you so much! Don't make yourself miserable, Nico." Will started in a softer voice. "That's in the past. Don't beat yourself up, or tell yourself you're not a good person, because I know for a fact that you are. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I am never going to leave. I swear to the River Styx." The younger boy looked up in shock, his eyes brimming with emotion._

_"__You-you're serious?" Nico stared at his boyfriend. His dark brown hair was concealing his eyes, and Will reached up to brush it away and tuck it behind his ear. _

_"__Of course sunshine. Why would I lie about this?" he pressed his forehead up against the son of Nico's head, and looked him 'straight' in the eye. "Always." He kissed his boyfriend sweetly. _

_"__You know, I miss Percy's mom." Nico said out of the blue. Will's lips twitched. _

_"__Oh, really?" Will was amused. _

_"__Yeah." Nico yawned. "She gave me blue cake a lot. When I was out looking for Percy, I used to stay at her house a lot. It was fun" he gave a small smile before Niko's eyes started to droop. Will chuckled._

_"__Get some sleep, death breath." Nico nodded, and in minutes he was asleep. _

Will jerked up from where he was laying on the bed.

He knew where Nico was.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"Wait, wait, wait" Percy said with a frown. "You think Nico's at… my _mom's _house? Why?"

As soon as Will had come running into the big house just minutes ago, Percy had called an emergency councilor meeting. Reyna was on one end of an IM, them having called her so she could hear as well. Many councilors were still half dressed in armor or aprons from whatever craft or session they had been participating in.

Jason, the ever worried one, had shaken Will down for answers as soon as Percy had called, demanding Will tell them where his Neeks was. To be frank, that guy scared him. When he was really angry, he could be terrifying, this crazy light in his eyes that reminded Will disturbingly of Zeus.

"It makes sense, right?" piper asked. "I mean, sally is really the only grownup adult Nico has ever met, besides his father. And the Olympians don't exactly count."

"Right" Lou Ellen mused. "But that's the thing. I've already checked with a few locater spells where Nico might be, but it's as if something is blocking the signal. And it's really strong, too. And I mean, like, Olympian power sized strong." She shook her head "unless your father put up a shield around your mother's house, I don't think he's there. Sorry, Will."

"But that's just it" Annabeth said as she jumped to her feet, a wild look in her eyes. "Who's to say he couldn't have, right? I mean, sally is the only mortal he's been seeing for the past, what, like fifty years? Granted, that's about a day for a god," she turned to Percy "but you were always his favorite." Percy blushed. "I say we go check it out."

"But why the hell would Nico be at my _mom's house_? She never even mentioned anything like this to me. Ever! I mean… I thought she would have at least told me something about... all this!" he looked gestured wildly with his hands. The son of Poseidon looked utterly bemused, and a bit hurt. Will almost felt sorry for the guy. Heck, he wanted to know as well, but every second they were sitting here was another second Nico could be…. He didn't want to think about it.

"Does it really matter? We need to find Nico! Please, just trust me on this." Will sighed internally. He needed to act fast. They all looked a bit skeptical, but nobody said anything.

Annabeth sighed. "okay." She said almost hopefully. "Percy, Will, Jason and I Will go check out Sally's house. If I IM you with an okay, call back the search teams ASAP. We can't afford to lose any people on this." She turned to the Demeter head councilor, Katie Gardener. "Katie, go tell the satyrs that we might have a lead, and to come back here, if just for a few hours. They must be exhausted." Katie nodded somberly, and left. "Councilors, thanks for showing up. Just… just keep looking, okay? Meeting adjourned." As everybody walked silently out of the room, Annabeth turned to Will. "We'll find him, Will. I swear on the River Styx.

Thunder rumbled.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Percy raised his fist to knock on the door.

He dropped it.

"Look... umm... Will?" he looked extremely uncomfortable. "Can you knock? I… I don't want to… I..." Will nodded. He understood. Percy wasn't exactly scared of what he might find, he was scared of what he wouldn't find. Percy flashed a grateful look, and Will knocked on Sally's door. Just a few moments later, Sally came out into the hallway, hair still dripping from the shower. Her face split into an enormous grin

"Percy!" she exclaimed. "Your back!" her face was split into a grin, but her eyes betrayed her. She seemed tense, as if she was waiting for him to ask something.

"Mom." He started "have you seen Nico lately" instantly, her façade dropped. Her eyes turned serious, and her voice dropped to a whisper.

She sighed "Nico asked me to not tell you anything. He asked me to keep it a secret. Beat Percy… he's just been… not like himself. He's distant, and broken. I hear sobs when I think he's in bed. And oh god... Percy. When he showed up…" she covered her mouth with her hand. "I could barely see him. My hand went right through him." Will felt like the room was spinning. No… he couldn't be fading again. Will had just gotten him back, and now his death breath was fading gain? No.

Will didn't realize he was on the ground until someone shook him. "Will! They shouted. "Will!" he stumbled to his feet. Everybody was looking at him, concern showing on their eyes.

"Mrs. Jackson, I really don't care whether he wants us there or not. I'm going to see my boyfriend."

Sally held out a hand to stop him, but that wasn't necessary. After stepping just one foot inside the apartment, he saw Nico, standing barefoot in a size XXXL t-shirt in living room, staring. He looked horrible, shadows under his eyes so prominent they looked like bruises, and his cheeks were puffy.

"Will" Nico said, before passing out, tumbling onto the cold, hard ground.

**Yaaaaay! This took me waaaay longer than it should have to write. Don't worry, I know where the fourth chapter is going. **

**Go check out my other fanfic, **Blue Cake**, and my soon to be fic, **Seeing Rainbow**! You guys mean so much to me. I have gotten so many reviews. I just wanted to thank you all for that. **

**Requests! Please! Thank you! **

**Peace, **

**DWD**


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